Taanakkaran, directed by former police officer Tamizh, examines the treatment of new recruits inside a police-training school. Set in 1998, its story brings together recently selected trainees and older recruits from the 1982 batch. The contrast between their ages and circumstances adds to the pressure inside the camp.
When discipline becomes humiliation
A parade competition becomes the focus of the training school’s harsh hierarchy. The film depicts abuse, caste prejudice and humiliation by senior officers, with devastating consequences for the trainees. I read this as a criticism of the colonial attitudes that can survive inside an institution long after its formal purpose has changed.
Arivu questions the system
Arivu enters the school expecting to become a police officer, but begins questioning what he sees. Inadequate toilets, alleged misuse of funds within the story and the mistreatment of the older trainees disturb him. His questions bring him into conflict with a system that treats obedience as more important than the reasons behind an order.
The officers justify the rigour of training as preparation for difficult duties. The film asks where necessary discipline ends and the abuse of authority begins. Learning to cope with pressure does not, in my view, require the loss of basic dignity.
Many trainees endure the treatment because their families depend on the job. That economic pressure complicates the idea that remaining in the force is simply an expression of passion. The need for a steady income can leave people with little room to resist.
The wider question of police reform
The film also brings the need for police reform to mind. The Supreme Court’s directions in the Prakash Singh case included mechanisms such as Police Establishment Boards and Police Complaints Authorities. A Bureau of Police Research and Development journal discusses these reforms and their purpose.
For me, Taanakkaran is most effective when it shows the human cost of unquestioning submission. It makes the argument for institutional dignity through the experiences of people at the bottom of the hierarchy.
The film was released on Disney+ Hotstar at the time of this April 2022 review. Streaming availability and service branding may have changed since then.